MCR HEALTH AWARDS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD TO STEPHEN WICKER
BY RITA SMITH
Pictured is MCR Health CEO Patrick Carnegie (right) giving the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Stephen Wicker.
During its 12th Annual Senator Edgar H. Price, Jr. Lifetime Achievement Awards Dinner, the Manatee County Rural Health Services (MCRHS) bestowed on Stephen Wicker its Lifetime Achievement Award. According to Patrick Carnegie, President and CEO of MCRHS, Mr. Wicker received the award due to his tireless service to the community for over 35 years with integrity and faith, and the fact that Mr. Wicker is a well-respected community leader known for his generosity, commitment, humanitarianism, and compassion. Mr. Wicker was the first African American hired by a major CPA firm in Columbus, Ohio, where he was born and raised. As one of only 500 African American CPAs in the United States, Mr. Wicker became a mentor for Black students who were interested in accounting.
He also help not-for-profit organizations and churches set up accounting and internal control systems. In 1973, Mr. Wicker formed a corporation with his uncle (Smith, Wicker & Associates) and specialized in audits of governmental entities. Mr. Wicker was a member of the nationally recognized musical ministry group, the Apostolic Clefs which performed across the US, South America and Europe. A tour with the Clefs in 1980 brought him to Sarasota, where he accepted the position of Associate Pastor and Music Minister of Tabernacle Church. In 1980 to present, Mr. Wicker has served on several boards, including J H Floyd Sunshine Manor, Boys Club of Sarasota, First Step Drug and Rehab Center, American Cancer Society, Goodwill Industries, Advisor for Sarasota Take Stock in Children, and the Audit Committee for the School Board of Manatee County. He has also been a major contributor to United Community Centers for more than 20 years. In 1995, Mr. Wicker was hired by Kirk-Pinkerton, PA, as their Legal Administrator, where he served until 2013. Currently, Mr. Wicker serves as treasurer for MCR Health, and the Gulf Coast community choir. He is also keyboardist, singer and worship leader, for Fellowship of Believer Church. Mr. Wicker and his wife Lee have two children, an adopted great-grand-niece, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
Congratulations to Mr. Wicker on a well-deserved honor.
